Expression, purification and anticancer analysis of GST-tagged human perforin and granzyme B proteins in human laryngeal cancer Hep-2 cells

Granzyme B and perforin, two major effector molecules in the granule-mediated cytolytic pathway, are thought to be involved in suppression of tumor progression. In this study, the pGEX-4T-1 expression vector was used to express full-length human perforin or granzyme B as a GST-tagged fusion protein in Escherichia coli (E. coli). GST-tagged proteins were induced with IPTG and purified by GSTrap 4B columns. Purified fusion proteins migrated at the predicted molecular mass on SDS-PAGE and were recognized by specific antibodies. Moreover, the fusion proteins can induce apoptosis and directly inhibit the growth of human laryngeal cancer Hep-2 cells in vitro. These results suggest that active perforin and granzyme B fusion proteins can be produced in E. coli and exhibit anticancer potential in laryngeal cancer cells.